Why Hurricane Laura could be a COVID-19 disaster

+ red flags in FDA's emergency approval‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Where do you go when a dangerous hurricane is coming, yet the safest-looking cities are struggling with outbreaks of COVID-19? Over half a million people faced that question before Hurricane Laura began pounding the Louisiana and Texas coasts.

Texas A&M professor Ali Mostafavi and his UrbanResilience.AI lab mapped the disaster and pandemic vulnerabilities of counties all along the East Coast. He explains the compounding risks people face as they prepare for a hurricane in the midst of a pandemic.

Also today:

Stacy Morford

General Assignments Editor

Evacuations during Hurricane Laura could increase the risk of exposure to COVID-19. AP Photo/Gerald Herbert

Hurricanes and wildfires are colliding with the COVID-19 pandemic – and compounding the risks

Ali Mostafavi, Texas A&M University

Disaster preparation and evacuation procedures weren't made for social distancing. The pandemic means response decisions are now fraught with contradictions.

Health + Medicine

FDA is departing from long-standing procedures to deal with public health crises, and this may foreshadow problems for COVID-19 vaccines

Ana Santos Rutschman, Saint Louis University; Lisa Vertinsky, Emory University; Yaniv Heled, Georgia State University

The rushed emergency approval for a treatment that might help COVID-19 patients has raised questions: Is the FDA abandoning its own guidelines?

Ethics + Religion

Jerry Falwell Jr. will leave behind a very different legacy from his influential father

Richard Flory, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences

The appeal of Jerry Falwell Jr., who resigned as president of Liberty University following a sex scandal, came from his family legacy. His late father, Jerry Falwell Sr., wielded enormous influence.
Religious tourism has been hit hard in the pandemic as sites close and pilgrimages are put on hold

Faizan Ali, University of South Florida; Cihan Cobanoglu, University of South Florida

As religious sites put pilgrimages on hold, a whole industry in travel, transport and accommodation takes a hit.

Politics/Election '20

Trump’s foreign policy is still ‘America First’ – what does that mean, exactly?

Klaus W. Larres, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

In 2016 Trump promised to 'shake the rust off America's foreign policy.' Four years later, it's clearer what that looks like: a US that sits on the sidelines of world crises and collaborations alike.
Mail-in voting’s potential problems only begin at the post office – an underfunded, underprepared decentralized system could be trouble

Jennifer Selin, University of Missouri-Columbia

To carry out an election by mail, hundreds of thousands of state and local offices and employees across the US must make sure that ballots are processed in a fair, consistent and timely manner.
Afghanistan’s peace process is stalled. Can the Taliban be trusted to hold up their end of the deal?

Sher Jan Ahmadzai, University of Nebraska Omaha

In February, the US signed an historic accord with the Taliban to end the Afghanistan War. Now violence in the country is up and peace talks with the government are delayed yet again.

Arts + Culture
The white supremacist origins of modern marriage advice Jane Ward, University of California, Riverside Concerned about the state of marriage – and thus the ability of whites to procreate – eugenicists were behind some of the earliest modern marriage manuals.

Education
Abolishing child labor took the specter of ‘white slavery’ and the job market’s near collapse during the Great Depression Betsy Wood, Hudson County Community College More than a fifth of US children were working in 1900, and many Americans saw nothing wrong with that. It took decades of activism and court battles plus economic upheaval to change course.

Most read on site

Cloth masks do protect the wearer – breathing in less coronavirus means you get less sick

Monica Gandhi, University of California, San Francisco

In places where everyone wears a mask, cases of COVID-19 seem to be less severe. Evidence from labs and outbreaks suggests that masks protect not only others, but the person wearing the mask, too.
A dismantled post office destroys more than mail service

Patty Heyda, Washington University in St Louis

Can you find a FedEx store that mimics the design creativity and quality of early US post offices? What are we left with when the best parts of public life are treated like for-profit entities?
How to use ventilation and air filtration to prevent the spread of coronavirus indoors

Shelly Miller, University of Colorado Boulder

Good ventilation can reduce the risk of catching coronavirus. An environmental engineer explains how to know if enough outside air is getting into a room and what to do if ventilation is bad.

Older messages

Police unions stand aside from the labor movement

Wednesday, August 26, 2020

+ why Trump is hero of the Christian Right‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

The US isn’t ready to make 230 million coronavirus vaccines

Tuesday, August 25, 2020

+ how the US Postal Service serves small businesses‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Minority seniors will bear worst financial brunt of pandemic

Monday, August 24, 2020

+ Mesopotamian beer, problems with human vaccine challenge trials‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Masks reduce coronavirus exposure + Oleandrin is deadly

Sunday, August 23, 2020

+ Byzantine Orthodoxy‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Who is Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader and victim of a suspected poisoning?

Saturday, August 22, 2020

+ are you ready to vote?‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Open Thread 268

Monday, March 20, 2023

... ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Cyclone Freddy is worse than you can imagine

Monday, March 20, 2023

what happened last week Hey, this is Sham, your very own news curator. In issue #328, I focus on natural catastrophes and the worst effects of climate change in Iraq, Malawi, Madagascar, Mozambique and

UNIX co-creator Ken Thompson is a… what user now? [Mon Mar 20 2023]

Monday, March 20, 2023

Hi The Register Subscriber | Log in The Register {* Daily Headlines *} 20 March 2023 Close up of a screen showing an attached Raspberry Pi booting, with the logo in prominent view UNIX co-creator Ken

The Extremely Profitable Invasion of Iraq

Sunday, March 19, 2023

Many of those responsible for the Iraq War have gone on to enjoy rewarding careers as senior policymakers in Washington or have cashed in on their time in government by taking well-paid roles in the

Your Monday Briefing: Putin and Xi to meet in Moscow

Sunday, March 19, 2023

Also, Donald Trump says his arrest is imminent and UBS agrees to buy Credit Suisse. View in browser|nytimes.com Continue reading the main story Marquee Ad Morning Briefing, Asia Pacific Edition March

🧠 Let’s Talk About Low-Lift Ways To Boost Mental Health

Sunday, March 19, 2023

If you found the last three years absolutely exhausting, you are not alone. ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

Can you help us keep the pressure on?

Sunday, March 19, 2023

The Lever's investigative reporting has driven the debate over the bank crisis — we've not only been repeatedly cited by the BBC, The New York Times, Democracy Now!, our revelations have helped

GeekWire's Most-Read Stories of the Week

Sunday, March 19, 2023

Catch up on the top tech stories from this past week. Here are the headlines that people have been reading on GeekWire. ADVERTISEMENT GeekWire SPONSOR MESSAGE: Unique & Urban Venue for Weddings,

LEVER WEEKLY: Too Small To Regulate, Now Too Big To Fail

Sunday, March 19, 2023

Silicon Valley Bank shows how rules are instantly changed to protect the rich and powerful. LEVER WEEKLY: Too Small To Regulate, Now Too Big To Fail By Rebecca Burns & Julia Rock – 19 Mar 2023 –

☕ A new era for startups

Sunday, March 19, 2023

What the collapse of SVB means for Silicon Valley... March 19, 2023 | View Online | Sign Up | Shop 10% Off A flying car spotted in Japan. STR/JIJI Press/AFP via Getty Images BROWSING Classifieds banner

Why Hurricane Laura could be a COVID-19 disaster

Health + Medicine

Ethics + Religion

Politics/Election '20

Arts + Culture

Education

Most read on site

Older messages